Unexpected Comfort
by Nami 07
Summary: Mikan was deeply saddened by Hotaru’s departure. But when she came back, Hotaru left a dangerous guy to her care, and Mikan finds herself stuck in the house with him.
1. The Arrival

Disclaimer: If I _did_ own GA, then it would've been longer and I would make Jinno-sensei die miserably. (-smirks- Ah, the sadist that I am.)

……

**CHAPTER 1: The Arrival**

Mikan Sakura woke up with rays of sunlight beaming on her smiling face. She yawned and stretched for a moment and then drowsily gazed at her alarm clock. The large red numbers read seven-thirty. Good. It hasn't alarmed yet. But wait. "SEVEN-THIRTY?!" Mikan sat bolted upright, her eyes wide in shock. How could she forget to put the alarm on?

She immediately crawled out of the sheets and stood up. The sudden contact of the smooth texture of her floor carpet against her bare feet gave them a tickling sensation, but she ignored that and sprinted towards the window just next to the bedside table instead. She pushed aside the long thin curtain hanging to cover it, and it revealed a wide grassy field, an outskirt of their remote yet lively town. The morning sun had already risen and it was as if it angrily threw hot beams of sunlight all over the field. She frowned and hurried to the wardrobe to pull off her uniform.

She hastened to put on her uniform and fix her hair, and then got her bag. She decided to take a last glance at the circular mirror just hanging at the wall, but found herself staring at a brunette at her early teens who was wearing a rather exhausted look, red ribbons held up her waist-length hair and maintained its pigtail-arrangement. Her eyes were wearily focused on the mirror, which then suddenly grew wide due to a new realization. "I'm gonna be late for sure!" She swung her bag onto her shoulder and scurried downstairs.

Mikan ran to open a door that leads to a dark room, and though she turned the lights on, it was still dimly lit. "Ah! There it is," she whispered to herself as she spotted a dusty, yet neatly arranged medium-sized square box. She struggled a bit to reach it, and was actually about to slip when she finally got it.

"Whew," she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, and then placed the box at the floor. She blew the excess dust away, then gently untied and removed the red ribbon fastening it. She then detached the lid and it revealed a glistening silver boots with some small buttons covering it. She carefully placed the box to its original position at the storeroom. She removed her leather shoes and replaced them with the boots, then put them neatly in a paper bag.

"I will be late!" Mikan hurried to the doorway, and just before she could push the sliding doors aside, she waved goodbye at her grandpa's picture.

……

The trip through the grasslands wasn't the most enjoyable thing; high bushes just kept on stinging her and absolutely weren't comfortable against her skin. Surely, Hotaru's invention was fast and recommendable for those people who are on rush, but she swore she would not use it ever again. The boots made her fly a few centimeters above the ground and definitely gave her quite a fast ride due to those rocket-like structures implanted on them. But the safety of the ride wasn't ensured and the boots had so many buttons, plus the only buttons in there that she knew the functions were the red on and off buttons.

After the horrendous ride through the fields, Mikan found herself turn and arrive at the town's main square, though there weren't so many people. Some of the townsfolk there were children, few were just strolling around, some were giving their dogs a walk, and most of them were quietly sitting on a bench, enjoying the cool morning breeze and the lovely scenery of innocent playing children.

As she hurtled past the park, she set off to the Sakura Road wherein a number of cherry blossom petals whizzed by. Mikan smiled as she felt the smooth air and soft petals brush against her skin. This familiar feeling brought back memories some five years ago. She walked along that road with her best friend when they were ten, and looked at the flower petals falling from tall cherry blossom trees as they awaited the coming summer festival. She sighed. Her friend Hotaru did manage to send her some letters, but her promises of coming back to their town didn't happen even once. She said she could not leave their school due to some circumstances, but will be able to do so once in a while. Mikan assumed she could never see her best friend until they reach high school.

She came nearer and nearer to the school gate but still failed to push the off button of the boots because of its high momentum. Considering that she might just bump the huge steel gate with a high impact, Mikan used her full force to push the buttons on the sides of her heels. The boots then stopped moving, and so as Mikan, thus she fell on her back with a loud thud.

"Ow…" she said, massaging her thigh. She reluctantly got up, grabbed her paper bag, and adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder. She finally approached the gate and the guard noticed her.

"You're a minute late, Sakura," the old man narrowed his eyes on Mikan.

"I suppose that means I'm not allowed to go in anymore…" she looked at her feet gloomily.

She was just about to turn away when the guard mumbled something. "Well… Since it's your first time coming to school late," Mikan suddenly looked at him, "and besides, it's only a minute, maybe we could break the rules once in a while," the man glanced at her, smiling.

"Really?! Thanks, mister!" Mikan beamed brightly.

"But it will be only just for now... The next time you come late, I will make sure you go home crying," he came to open the gate.

"Yes!" Mikan drove off after waving the guard goodbye.

……

Mikan sat on her chair, trying to listen to the teacher carefully. However, she couldn't help but muse of when Hotaru will come and visit her. She doesn't even know how Hotaru looks like now, nor was she sure if her friend still knows how she looked like. Five years passed by so quickly without her around.

She started to amuse herself with a pencil on her hand. Good thing the teacher was pretty late, she had the opportunity to change to her shoes since the boots were obviously heavy. She intently gazed outside the window, since she was just sitting next to it, wondering what kind of life Hotaru's having at her school. One time, she overheard her classmates talking about how the academy treated the students like some kind of prisoners, not having the chance to visit their loved ones. They said the students there were sort of endangered species, so they were not allowed to escape or something. The teacher's deep voice crushed her thoughts.

"Sakura, read the first paragraph on page seventy-seven."

"Hai."

……

Mikan was on cleaning duty, and though she would've wanted to go to work earlier than usual, she wouldn't be able to. She seized the eraser with her dainty hand and wiped it on the blackboard, erasing the writings at once. After cleaning the board, she clutched the handle of a broom and swept the floor, sending the litters and dusts away to the trashcan. Then, she arranged the chairs neatly to their position. Mikan wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and sighed.

"You can go now, Sakura. Your duty for today is over," her cleaning companion for that day, Hiroki, was busy closing the windows.

"You sure you don't need help anymore?" Mikan asked, starting to gather her things.

"Nah, I can do this myself."

"Arigato," she mumbled.

"I would've accompanied you to the cake shop if I'm not busy. You know, ladies aren't supposed to be going alone on late hours," Hiroki glanced at her and beamed.

"It's still early, silly. Just four in the afternoon," she chuckled quite a bit.

"I guess so. Well then, you can set off now."

Mikan nodded and walked out of the door, her bag at her shoulder, a paper bag clutched in her right hand.

She passed through empty corridors and hallways and then made her way to the stairs to go down. She reached the ground floor and stepped on the cemented floor. The sun was setting; the sky was orange with a tinge of red. Mikan was about to go to the entrance gate when she heard wailings.

"Shut the trap, boy, or I'll rip your lungs out," a voice of a male hissed in a distance.

Mikan hurried to the location of the sources of the voices and saw a figure of a boy lying on the ground and some bullies surrounding him whom she supposed were of her age. The poor boy had some cuts and bruises all over his body.

"Why don't you pick on someone of your own size?!" she bellowed at the bullies.

"Why, if it isn't miss popular," one teased her.

"Here to play heroine, huh?"

"I'm sure there still are teachers in the faculty room. If you guys don't stop this," she paused and grinned evilly, "I'm gonna make sure your instructors will fail you harder than how you are now."

She was about to run and play tag with them when the bullies walked away.

"There's no point chasing her, I heard she's as fast as a horse," one nudged his comrade.

"Yeah, they say she'll be star runner if she joins the sports club."

They were quite in a distance when the blond one yelled at Mikan, "You'll be sorry for this, missy!"

She just sighed, then turned to the injured boy and crouched.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Yeah… Thanks to you, miss, or I would've been blown into smithereens now," he smiled weakly despite the cuts on his face.

"Don't be silly. Hey, why were those guys after you?"

"Looking for money. I don't have a penny anymore, but since I was the only one they spotted, they asked for some; and when they found out that I don't have any, they beat me up."

"Oh…Well, I believe you'll need to be brought to the clinic. To tell you the truth, those wounds look bad," she gave him a pitied look.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Hop onto my back, then," she urged the young brunette.

"No, I don't think that will be necessary. I don't have a broken leg, after all."

"But I can't just leave you alone like that," she insisted.

"I heard you have a job after class, you might be late for that if you will accompany me."

Mikan's eyes grew wide as she remembered. "Hey, how did you know?"

"This school's not that big, you know, and it will not be a great surprise if we happen to know everyone here, especially you, Miss Sakura."

She smiled. "Now that's flattering… But are you sure you won't need help?"

"Thanks for the concern, but I can handle this myself."

She stood up, "Bye then. And take care, will you?" Mikan then walked away to reach the gate.

……

It was half past four when Mikan arrived at the entrance of the cake shop.

"Time to work, I guess," she murmured to herself.

The chimes hanging on the glass door tinkled as she moved it to go in.

"Konnichiwa… Oh, it's you, Mikan," a raven-haired girl at her early teens turned her gaze to Mikan after checking the cash register. She was the daughter of the owner of the shop.

"Hello, Hitomi-chan," Mikan greeted her co-worker with a pleasant smile, and then tossed her things to the employees' drawer.

"Sorry I'm late… I'm on cleaning duty today."

Hitomi nodded, "Hey, Mikan-chan, what's in the paper bag? You don't often use that, do you?"

"Hrm… It's just one of Hotaru's crazy inventions," the brunette answered as she grabbed a pink cloth and an apron with a blue printed name on it: Crème Cake Shop.

"Really?! What is it this time?" Hitomi asked excitedly. Mikan always informed her about her best friend and her talent in making gadgets and some impossible inventions. She already knew that Hotaru's currently studying at an infamous school called Alice Academy, and she gets money from the government by doing so.

"Boots. Those ones used to boost speed and fly around," she answered while putting on a pink bandana.

"Cool! You know what? I really want to meet this Hotaru!"

"I told you, she's not allowed to go out of the school," Mikan replied gloomily. She hasn't been cheerful these days, ever since Hotaru stopped sending letters. What's the point of being happy if she's not with her?

"Oh… I forgot about that," the black-haired responded back almost apologetically.

Mikan wore the apron and pinned her ID on her left breast-pocket.

"So why do you have that with you?" Hitomi raised a question yet again, still referring to the contents of the paper bag.

"Well, I woke up late this morning, and I used that so I won't be late for school," she took the seat next to her friend.

"Silly! You shouldn't have, I heard you're a fast runner!"

"Yeah, I guess so. But I suppose it won't hurt to try. And good thing I used them, I arrived a couple of minutes earlier," she beamed.

"So you were not late?" Hitomi asked reassuringly.

"Hmmm… To tell you the truth, I was. But the guard let me in," Mikan chuckled.

"You used your charms, didn't you?" the black-haired grinned widely.

"No way! That's disgusting! Totally absurd!"

"Haha, just joking!"

Their conversation was interrupted by a sound of chimes, and a man emerged from the door.

"I need a chocolate-mousse flavored cake."

"Sure. Just a minute, sir."

……

Mikan waved goodbye to Hitomi and made her way outside the shop. She looked at the glowing blue letters above it which read 'Crème Cake Shop,' and then fixed her eyes on her wristwatch, which said seven o'clock.

She sighed. She still need to cook dinner after going home, good thing the fridge wasn't empty.

She walked. The sound of her heels in contact with the cemented sidewalk echoed in the silence of the road. There were no cars. No people walking at night. No vendors on their stalls. No sound. No nothing.

She started to walk rapidly when light drops of rain started to pour down.

"So that's why the road's empty," Mikan mumbled to herself in relief.

Just then, two muscular arms locked hers so that she couldn't move them.

"Not totally empty, actually…" a deep voice of a man whispered to her ear.

Mikan struggled so hard to free herself form the grasp but she just couldn't. It was just then she realized that at least five men, all taller than her that is, were surrounding her.

"No… Please don't," she still struggled, but the grasp was just too tight.

"I told you you'll be sorry for your interference earlier," a familiar blond man walked to her front.

"Please… Please let me go…" she pleaded, her voice entirely trembling.

The man smirked, "You think we'll just let you go after that? We were enjoying harassing that boy, and you came meddling," the man concentrated his vigor to his fist and punched her hard at the gut.

Mikan gasped in pain, shaking due to mixed pain, fear, and coldness of the rain.

"I beg of you… Let me go," she was sobbing, but all the guy did was smirk nastily. "That's what wannabe heroines get."

His comrades cackled their malevolent laughs, completely ignoring the loud sound of heavy rain falling.

Mikan was soaking wet and hungry at the same time, she wished she was home at the moment. When she noticed that the grip wasn't so tight anymore, she freed herself, smacked the blond one hard on the face with the heavy paper bag, and scurried away. But five was just too much for her, she was too tired, and eventually they caught up with her.

"Want to play hide and seek, then? Well we don't want that. We want to play some _mature_ games…" the blonde smiled evilly as he grabbed her hair to stop her from fleeing. Mikan assumed the guy was thinking of one thing: rape.

"Don't…! I'm too young for this! Please don't!" her sobs turned into loud cries, desperate to remove those strong arms wrapping around her. The man was just about to remove the buttons of her uniform when a deafening sound of gunshot came rustling amidst the noise of the heavy rain. Together with the sound was a weird voice saying "Baka!"

"Argh!!!" the man screamed in pain for he was the bull's-eye. He instructed his friends to escape and so did they.

Mikan simply slumped down on the wet ground, crying endlessly. The figure who seemed to own the pistol slowly walked to her and offered a hand to pull her up. Mikan gazed at her savior dreamily. She had short raven hair which barely passed her shoulders, stoic violet eyes, and an attractively friendly face. She wore a wide umbrella top which was attached on her head which made her look like an adorable mushroom, a pink pistol-like item clutched on her hand. It was the person she had been waiting all these years. The person who had always helped her out in times of trouble.

"Hotaru!" Mikan jumped from the ground and hugged her friend, totally ignoring the offer of help from the one referred to as Hotaru.

"Hotaru! Hotaru! Hotaru!" she continued, jumping up and down while crying on her friend's shoulder. Hotaru didn't move a centimeter from where she was standing and she motioned Mikan to get off her.

"You know what? You're as careless as ever," she stated without a tinge of emotion traced on her face.

Mikan simply looked at her. Her friend had certainly grown more beautiful… Her attitude, however, didn't.

"I saved a boy from those bullies early this afternoon, and so they went for me… I know you would do the same thing too if you were in my place, right?"

"I guess I would've saved the boy, but I would've been extra careful, knowing I'm in grave danger," Hotaru answered ironically. "I had been waiting at your place since five --- you're really so careless, leaving the door unlocked --- and left my luggage there. You weren't there so I decided to take a walk. Good thing I brought this umbrella cap, I didn't know it would be raining."

Mikan remembered the fact that she forgot to lock the door for she was about to be late early that morning.

"Oh Hotaru, I missed you so much!" she changed the topic, face still stained with tears.

"The Mikan I knew was so energetic and full of life, and she was more beautiful than you," Hotaru simply stared at her as if not caring about the world.

With this, Mikan immediately wiped her tears though it was still raining and her face was wet, and put a wide friendly smile on her face.

"Yeah… That's more like it," Hotaru then turned and walked away, Mikan simply followed.

"Hey, thanks a lot for the money you're lending me, that's so much help to me, you know!"

Her friend didn't respond and acted as if she didn't even hear her.

"Hotaru, when did you start using pistols?" she asked, although she was still behind her friend.

"This one's called the Idiot Gun. It's intended to be used to you only, but we can't deny that those hoodlums are idiots too," she answered without much emotion, still not turning to her conversationalist.

"You're still mean, you know?"

"Whatever."

……

The two arrived at Mikan's home: Mikan soaking wet, Hotaru's boots all muddy.

"Good thing this place's hidden. Perfect," Mikan heard Hotaru mumble to herself.

"You're saying something?"

"Nah, don't mind that," she stated, detaching the umbrella cap from her head.

"Let's go in," Mikan pushed the sliding doors aside and made her way in. Hotaru followed.

Mikan went to the fireplace and made it produce blazing fire. She then went to her cabinet, grabbed her robe and wore it. She also seized a towel and dried her hair with it. She came back to the living room to see her friend sitting at the couch.

"I noticed your grandpa's not here. Where is he?"

Silence.

"He's dead. He died a year ago due to heart attack."

"Oh…" was all Hotaru could say, not even bothering to say sorry.

The brunette approached the fridge and looked for something to eat. She then decided to bake some pasta.

"Hey, thanks for your help earlier. I really don't know how to express my gratitude, maybe I could let you stay for the evening?" she glanced at her companion who seemed to smile for the first time since they met that night.

"Well… I'm staying at our house tonight --- got to visit my parents, of course --- but I have a little favor to ask you."

"Anything," Mikan focused her attention on her childhood friend.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I promise I'll do what I can to help."

Hotaru approached a suitcase --- a very large once --- which had holes that weren't big enough to peek in in order to see the contents, and then she entered a code to open it. As she revealed what the content was, Mikan gasped in shock.

"A-A b-body!!!" Mikan fell backwards, eyes wide in surprise, "Y-You didn't --- did you?!"

Hotaru was confused for a moment, and after realizing what Mikan's outburst was all about, she replied, "You really are an idiot. Take a closer look, this guy's still breathing."

The brunette hesitated, but had the urge to take a look at the guy lying on the floor. And so she did.

She sighed after resting his palm on his chest, "Good thing he's still alive… I thought you had been a murderer for a while there, Hotaru."

"Anyway, I need you to take care of that guy there. I'll need to go back to school tomorrow."

"Is he in coma?" Mikan asked while pinching the poor guy's cheek.

"No, he'll be waking up tomorrow. It seems like the sleeping spray I sprayed on him was pretty effective."

"But… Why won't you let him stay at your house? Why is he wearing a uniform identical to yours? Is he an escapee? And most of all, why was he in a suitcase?" Mikan asked continuously that she needed to inhale great amount of air afterwards.

"I just helped him flee from the academy, that's all. I'm an honor student so I had the privilege of visiting my home and stuff," the raven-haired said, gazing at the light pouring of rain outside.

"And why does this fellow here want to get out of the school?"

"I'll tell you later, help me set this device up first," Hotaru stated, pointing at a huge gadget which looked impossible to be stocked in her backpack. She led Mikan outside and she followed.

"What are these for?" Mikan referred to the four metal boxes that her friend was setting up.

"Listen, put those on the four corners of the exterior of the house. And remember to leave at least twelve inches from the corner. Understand?"

Though Mikan didn't get the answer of what she had interrogated, she nodded and hurried to set the heavy boxes to their positions and told Hotaru that she's done.

"Okay. So I'll tell you what this thing is for. Once I turn on the switch in there," Hotaru pointed at a switch she put on the lawn just near the front of the house, "a barrier will be formed, connecting the four rectangular boxes that I told you to set up earlier."

"What's that for?"

"The barrier will stop students from our academy from going in or out of your home, and of course, that guy in there counts," she explained, referring to the person inside Mikan's house.

"Why do we have to put this up?"

"Because," she shot her friend a nasty look, "that guy is dangerous."

Mikan smiled sheepishly, "You must be joking… Right?"

"Oh Mikan, don't you still understand?"

"Understand what?! Things got complicated here since you came," Mikan said a bit too sulkily, but it didn't seem to matter to Hotaru. She went there to leave a dangerous person to her care and talked to her as if she was still a kid. But she guessed Hotaru's just Hotaru.

Mikan went inside the house and so did her companion.

"Look. I'm grateful you're here to help. I really am, and I'll make sure I'll be able to pay you back a little later on when I get back, it's just that things at the academy's getting complicated, and I'm counting on you."

Mikan was glad Hotaru still considered her as a friend, but she just couldn't understand what the significance of what they are doing now is. She slopped down on a couch and rested her chin on her palm.

"I'll just tell you what's happening when I get back to school. Of course, via mail."

"But Hotaru, you're saying that this guy here is dangerous. I believe you're trying to keep him away from the people to prevent them from harm, but how about me? What if I'm already dead when the mail arrives?"

"Well, as I said, the barrier outside will prevent him to go out of the house, but you won't be, simply because you're not a student from our school."

"But… But how will I be able to get some food, or pee, or take a bath, or get anything from the house with him lurking around? How will I be able to sleep on my room? How the heck will I be able to go inside my house?" Mikan worriedly asked, afraid to hear Hotaru's horrible answer.

She sighed, "I'm afraid you should play tag with him."

Mikan, being Mikan, didn't get it at once when she heard her friend, but as she tried to comprehend, she understood.

"NO!!!" Mikan screamed, falling to her knees. She will need to sleep outside when the guy's awake and sneak in to get things. Horrible. Simply absurd.

"Don't shout too much, or you'll wake him up earlier than expected."

"Hotaru, don't leave me here," she said, tugging on her friend's uniform.

"Oh come on, I'll need to get to our house now," Hotaru brushed away her hand, grabbed her bag containing some of her gadgets, and then dashed away to the door. But then she stopped. "Thanks a lot. I owe you so much… I'll switch the barrier on now," Then she scurried off.

Mikan sighed heavily and whispered to herself, "She didn't even bother to close the door," then approached the door to close it.

She then gazed at the sleeping figure lying on the floor. "I can't just leave you lying in there," she then dragged him to the futon with difficulty and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

She crouched and looked at the guy's sleeping face. "You know what? You don't look dangerous at all. And if you can be my friend, I will be more than happy to have company here at home," she smiled at him though still frightened.

Mikan then suddenly stood, "Got to take a shower first… I hope you wouldn't be mad to see yourself awake in an unfamiliar place tomorrow morning."

She left the unconscious guy and went upstairs to get clothes and a clean dry towel. She hurried to the shower room and undressed herself.

……

Mikan got up from her bed reluctantly, she was still extremely sleepy, actually, since her night of staying with a dangerous guy under one roof wasn't exactly comfortable. Hotaru said the guy would probably wake up early in the morning, so she had to get up early and stay away from him.

"Got to hurry," she got a big backpack and packed her necessary things, so she could bring them outside, not in reach of the dangerous one.

"Okay. Ready…" she finished packing up and sneaked downstairs, tiptoeing so she wouldn't wake the guy up.

When Mikan got to the entrance door, she immediately pushed the sliding door aside, and then made her way out. But she wasn't even a foot away from the walls of the house when she shrieked in pain because an electric shock hit her. No doubt, the barrier device.

She panicked, weren't only the students of Alice Academy supposed to be affected by it?

As she spun around, much to her surprise, she had awoken someone. She's trapped inside the house. With _him_.

"Answer me in five seconds or I'll burn up your hair… Just who the heck are you?!"

……

END OF CHAPTER


	2. Alices and Tic tac toes

**CHAPTER 2: Alices and Tic-tac-toes**

Mikan stood rooted on the spot, terrified. What did he mean by _I'll burn up your hair…_?

The brunette halted beside the doorway with a young man who dawned black hair, had cold deep amber eyes, handsome face and a familiar Alice Academy uniform beside her. She perceived that he was inches taller than her... He was the one her best friend left with her last night.

"Answer me NOW!" the outraged guy was red, his voice threatening. Mikan wasn't able to move a muscle; her heart was beating unbelievably fast. Hotaru said the man in front of her was extremely dangerous… and she was stuck in the house with him.

Receiving no answer, the young man lunged forward and grabbed one of her pigtails. "Now I'm giving you another chance. Where the heck am I?!"

This time, Mikan managed to gather her guts and bellowed at her guest, "How dare you shout at me! You're only a visitor here, and you've got no rights to speak rudely to me!" she struggled to take his grip away from strands of her hair. But then she was taken aback when he stated, "Now you've pissed me off… You'll get what you're looking for!"

Mikan closed her eyes, afraid to open them up to witness her head on fire. But when she stroked one hand on her head, she found out that the atrocious guy hadn't done any harm on her just yet. She stared at him… his eyes were scrutinizing both his palms. He had a puzzled look on his face, but it didn't bother to her anyway. She needed to escape from him… and fast.

"Argh!" she whacked him hard with her huge backpack, and the strong impact pushed the guy onto the floor. And then she scurried away. Mikan looked for a place to hide on, but no luck. She then spotted the stairway. She had no other option: she needed to hide upstairs.

Mikan, albeit very nervous and scared, managed to find a cabinet big enough for her to fit into. She huddled herself inside, hugging her knees and covering her mouth to prevent her visitor to hear her wheezes.

She then heard footsteps. Not rapid steps, but slow and calm ones… Just like those on horror movies.

Mikan's mind raced. The moment she stayed in there seemed like ages… She had always thought that having phones would be just a complete waste of money, but her situation now proved her wrong. She needed someone to help her… _But even if she shouts, she won't be heard._

"Give it up now, will you? I'm just trying to ask you what place this is!" the stranger shouted, frustration in his tone.

Mikan heard the door of her room creak.

His footsteps came nearer and nearer. Mikan's heart was pounding hard against her ribs; sweat dripping all over her forehead. That might be her last day on the surface of the living world… The guy was going to get her for sure.

Mikan's whole world stopped as the young man blocked the front of the cabinet where she was hiding. And unexpectedly, the cabinet door blasted open. _She's doomed._

He clutched her wrist and threw her onto the floor; dusts came fluttering around as she did so. The next thing she knew, he was crouching down to tug one of her pigtails around one hand. She stayed frozen for a while as her guest seemed to concentrate something on his fist… But he looked dismayed for some reason.

"Please have pity on me…" something struck Mikan, that situation had already occurred to her once. It was identical to what happened to her the night before. Was her guest also thinking of raping her? She imagined how seductively gorgeous she was to attract two men in a row. Hey! What was she thinking? _This isn't the time to ponder over silly thoughts!_

The young man sighed and stood up. "Would you stop overacting? Now that you're free of my grip, I'll ask you once again. Who are you and where am I?" he asked in a more gentle way, and Mikan, afraid that he might come back to his scary self, stood up and answered in a jiffy. "I-I'm Mikan Sakura, and you're in my house."

"And how the heck did I get here without even noticing?"

"Hotaru brought you here," Mikan replied, a terrified look still traced on her face.

"Hotaru? Imai Hotaru?" he asked, his temper rising yet again.

Mikan nodded slightly as if she was the one guilty.

"That brat's really so annoying," he dug his hands deep on his pockets while Mikan retorted. "Don't call her a brat! And you're the one who's so darn annoying!"

The guy narrowed his eyes on her, and then stuck out his right hand. Mikan didn't know if it was just a trick of light from the open windows or something, but there came, right before her eyes, blazing fire on the guy's palm. But as she came nearer, she had to accept that it was true.

"Did you… produce that?" she asked, eyes wide in astonishment.

Her guest also had the look of shock, but as it subsided, he simply smirked, "I can put this house on fire if you won't bring me back to the academy immediately."

"How dare you give me orders? I'm telling you yet again, you're merely a guest here!" the brunette yelled, her fear completely engulfed by anger.

"So you prefer having your house burned to ashes rather than simply giving me a ride to that stupid academy?" he interrogated with a threatening look.

Mikan sighed. "Fine then, but if you want to go outside so desperately, then try and turn that gadget of Hotaru off."

"Gadget?" the guy repeated dubiously.

"Yeah. And for your information, mister, that wonderful device of hers made a barrier around this lovely house of mine which doesn't allow students of your stupid academy go in or out. And the off button is a meter far from here."

"Then why don't you get out of the house and turn it off? I can tell you really are slow," he said ironically as he extinguished the fire and pocketed his hand once again.

"Yeah? Then I'll show you why I can't."

Mikan angrily led him downstairs, and so he followed. They reached the kitchen, and then marched off across the living room.

She pushed open the entrance door, her eyes fixed on her guest, then they shot at the lawns outside. "The barrier is right here," she held out a hand and stretched out her forefinger, which immediately backed out after it was shocked by something which seemed to be some kind of electric current. "Even I can't go through this, do you understand?"

And then she turned back her gaze to the raven-haired who seemed to be looking at something else. "Can you try that again? I wasn't focusing any attention."

"Grrr… What am I, an experiment tester?" her face was contorting with rage. He wasn't even listening to her!

"So how the heck will we be able to get out of this stupid house?" he asked with a smug look on his face.

"I… I don't know!"

"I bet you're acting as if you don't know any way so I would stay with you," he teased, his face not showing any emotion.

"That's so wrong!" she snapped. "I don't like what's happening better than you do!" her arms crossed over her chest.

The guy then shifted his eyes to nowhere in particular, "And what will I do in this boring place of yours?"

"Grrr…. Just do anything you like!!!" she answered furiously, and then made her way to the wooden stairs. "And I do hope you won't enjoy your stay here!" she finally made her way up, making every step pound as loud as she could.

Mikan reluctantly headed to her room. She went abed, hugged a pillow, and sighed heavily. Good thing it was Saturday. No classes. But she still couldn't believe that she was running for her dear life early that morning, her guest wasn't even _that_ dangerous, he was just a normal abhorrent guy… Well, except for that part when he produced fire in his hands… _Hey, is he even a human?_

She immediately jumped out of her bed, threw the pink pillow aside, and pushed open the door. She then got out of her room and dragged her feet downstairs and to the living room once again.

"Hey you," she got the attention of the irritating guy who was lying on the sofa, arms supporting the back of his head, and feet resting on the wooden table just beside it. "I need to ask you a question."

"Sorry, but I won't go on a date with you," he stated unemotionally.

"I'm trying to be serious here, you know!" she sighed, and then resumed, "Are you a human?"

He simply raised one of his eyebrows and asked, "Insane, are you? How could you ask a question like that?"

"Then where did that fire thingy come from?"

"Oh, you mean this?" the guy showed his hand ablaze and again caught Mikan by surprise.

"Y-Yeah! How the heck do you produce that??"

"Simple. It's called Alice, you dumb little girl."

"I'm not a girl anymore! I'm fifteen already, mind you!"

"And why are you still in your pigtails? At first I thought you were ten," he said as he casually checked his nails.

"Grrr… And why do you care? It's none of you're business, you know!"

"You still look like a ten year-old, stop trying hard."

A pause.

Did Mikan look like that to the stranger? A ten year-old? She took a deep breath and sighed. She then simply closed her eyes to calm down and opened them up to start a new conversation… a serious one.

"Let's start this all over again. Where did you get that fire from?" she asked yet again, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I told you, it's my Alice."

"What _is_ an Alice? Is it something you learn from the Alice Academy?"

"No, stupid. It's innate, something I have since I was born," the word stupid struck her, but Mikan controlled her anger. She was becoming more and more interested every ticking second.

"Does that make you special? Are you the only one with this so-called Alice in the whole wide world?" her eyes glittered in excitement as she took the seat beside her guest.

"Baka, that's what the academy is for, to train students with their Alices."

"Academy? The Alice Academy? So everyone in there have special powers?"

"Don't be exaggerated, little girl."

"Does that mean Hotaru has an Alice? My best friend has super powers?"

"I told you, don't exaggerate. Not all Alices are cool, some are just minor ones," he looked at her straight in the eyes, "and mine is the Fire Alice."

"Wow! And what does Hotaru have?"

"The Alice of Innovation. That barrier outside is a product of her Alice," he informed coolly.

"Oh… So that's why! Hotaru always---" Mikan was cut by the guy. It seemed that something had struck him and made him sit bolted upright, "That reminds me, only the students of Alice Academy are supposed to be affected with the electric shock…"

"Well, maybe Hotaru's invention is broken, so even I can't go through it. It was raining yesterday."

"No, I don't think so. She used that thing on us back in the academy and it was perfectly well. And besides, she said it is waterproof," he stared at the ceiling, "What if you're an Alice?"

"I'm an _Alice_? But I thought Alices are the abilities you guys have…" Mikan innocently stuck her finger at the bottom of her lips.

"Alice is the ability _and_ the person who has it."

"Oh… But I can't be. Well, since all of you at your school are Alices, you didn't notice that the device might be actually intended to electrocute _anyone_ who tries to pass through it."

"It could be… But to tell you the truth, I sensed something on you earlier," he pierced his eyes onto hers, his voice serious.

"What?"

"I tried to use my fire Alice on your hair… But obviously, it didn't work."

"And what does that mean? …Do I have an awesome Alice?"

"I'm not positive… But if you happen to have it, then no one can ever get us out of here."

"But this place is sort of hidden…"

Mikan's heart skipped a beat. If they wouldn't be able to get out, they wouldn't be able to buy food. She wouldn't be able to work. She wouldn't be able to go to school. But if she wouldn't go to school… her classmates might go and visit her! Good thing she brought a classmate to her house one time.

"Hey! If I won't go to school, my classmates will be worried and they'll visit me, and I will ask them to turn off the switch!"

"Yeah, smarty pants, I will have to stay here for another two days. Another forty-eight hours of torture."

"What did you mean by that?"

"Don't you have any television in here? Or video games? Or even a radio?"

Mikan sighed, "Why would I bother buying a television or a radio? I always go to school, then spend the rest of my day at the cake shop to work. When I go home I only eat dinner, then study afterwards, and finally sleep. And on weekends, I study and go take a walk outside. I don't have to buy rubbish like those, they're complete waste of money, and besides, I _was _the only resident in here. And for heaven's sake, what would I do with video games?"

The guy shrugged, "Then I will definitely die of boredom."

Mikan rested her forehead on her palm and shook her head, "I just don't know what to do with you…"

She was about to approach the stairs when the guy placed his feet over the wooden table and rested the back of his head on his arms.

"May I know what your name is?"

"Why would I want to tell _you_?"

"Because you already know mine. It's unfair if you won't tell me yours."

"Oh… What is it? _Baka_?"

"It's Mikan!" the auburn-haired snapped. She couldn't take it having a housemate who would always call her an idiot.

"But I prefer Baka more," he responded, no trace of emotion in his face.

"Call me Mikan! Or maybe you just can't pronounce it? It's Mi-kan. M-I-K-A-N."

"Whatever," he closed his eyes.

"Now what's you're name?"

"Fine, just stop blabbering," he said coolly, his eyes still not open, "It's Natsume Hyuuga."

"Okay then. I'll leave you now, Natsume."

She skipped her way upstairs and left her guest behind.

……

Mikan hummed as she stirred some thick mixture onto the pan. And after they solidified and turned brownish, she transferred them onto two plates. She put cubes of butter on the tops and poured honey on them.

She seized two pairs of knives and forks. _Her guest must be hungry by now…_ So she carried the plates to the living room.

"Hey Natsume," the guy glanced at her, "I made some pancakes."

"…So?" he closed his eyes though aware that Mikan was talking to him.

"Aren't you hungry at all?"

"Actually, I am, but I don't want to be poisoned," he stated flatly.

"Silly, of course I won't try to poison you."

"Then I don't want to try a little girl's cooking."

Mikan rolled her eyes, "Here I am, concerned that you would die of hunger, but you're still calling me a little girl…" she laid a plate on the table beside him.

She then turned her back to the visitor and muttered, "Help yourself with that if you're already _incredibly_ hungry, but do wish that I didn't put a poison in there," then stormed off to her room.

After _two_ minutes, Mikan decided to check on Natsume if he ate her home-made pancakes.

And so, she sneaked downstairs, and then poked her head from the wall adjoining the kitchen and the living room to see him more clearly. And much to Mikan's delight, he was munching it down. She sprinted back upstairs, her heart filled with contentment.

Mikan approached her study table and sat down on the chair. She then grabbed her English textbook and opened it up. She didn't exactly have good grades in her English subject, so she had always wanted to improve in that field. She tried so hard to understand what she was reading, but she just couldn't concentrate. The figure of a person downstairs literally dying of boredom kept bugging her. She couldn't just leave him alone!

She grabbed a notebook --- the one she didn't use at school --- and two pens. She bustled downstairs yet again to see Natsume sleeping soundly in the couch of the living room.

Mikan crouched and gazed at his sleeping figure… So gentle and nice. Totally different when he's awake. The brunette smiled. She never should've believed Hotaru when she said that he was dangerous.

Mikan was still staring at his handsome face when his eyes shot open.

"What do you think you're doing?" his eyebrow was arched, his tone suspicious.

"I was trying to… er… wake you up to ask you to um… play tic-tac-toe… Yes! Tic-tac-toe! Hehehe…" Mikan was glad she was able to ransack her head for a bogus answer. She hoped he didn't see her staring at him.

"Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" the raven-haired sat up, scratching the back of his head. "And what did you say we'll play? Tic-tac-toe? What the heck, don't compare me to you, I'm not a ten year-old."

"Can't you be nice for a change? You're so cold to me; I even wondered why you're given the Fire Alice instead of Ice."

"Whatever."

"Ohhh… Maybe _you're_ afraid to be beaten by a ten-year-old in a silly game of tic-tac-toe…" she said in an infuriating tone.

"Fine! You're on!"

Mikan smirked as she sat beside him. _This guy sure is easy to provoke._

"Okay. Now hold this," she handed him the black pen. You'll have the 'X' symbol, and 'O' will be mine."

"So who will be the first to go?" he asked.

"Let Lady Luck decide," Mikan smiled, "Let's play _Rock, Paper, Scissor_ first."

"Oh man, why do I have to do this?"

"Scared again, are you?"

"Of course not! Let's do it."

Mikan chuckled. "Rock, paper, scissor!" she chanted as her fist formed a ball. Hers was rock, and well, fortunately, Natsume's was a scissor.

"You're cheating!" he bellowed.

"No way, how could I cheat? I can't read your mind!"

"Grrr… Fine then."

"Now let's start." In a page of her notebook, Mikan drew four vertical lines and four horizontal lines which overlapped, and formed a supposed-to-be replica of a tic-tac-toe game board.

"Here I go," she said as she drew a circle on the middle square box, "Your turn."

Natsume grunted, and then formed an X on the left of Mikan's circle. Mikan then drew her second circle on the lower-right of her first one, and Natsume, who would not let her form a tic-tac-toe that easily, countered by writing an X on the uppermost left.

"I can't let you win this!" the brunette then formed her third circle just below Natsume's first X. And perhaps because he saw the potential of Mikan putting an O in the middle fraction of the lowermost row, he put there an X.

"Tic-tac-toe!" Mikan cried, putting an O in the uppermost right part and forming a diagonal line of O's. "I told you, this _ten-year-old girl_ can easily win a game of tic-tac-toe against you."

"Let's do it again!" he shouted, his tone motivated.

"Sure," Mikan replied with a chuckle.

"I won't go easy on you this time, little girl."

"Do as you wish."

"Rock, paper, scissor!" she chanted, her palm wide open. And unbelievably, Natsume's was a rock.

"Ha! I told you! You can't win against me!"

"You're just lucky," he mumbled under his breath.

"It is not only luck that's necessary in here," she smiled mischievously, "it's intelligence that counts."

"Start it already!" he blurted in annoyance.

"Haha, fine then."

……

"That was fun! Eighteen to two. Not bad. I thought for a while there that you wouldn't win even once!" Mikan beamed playfully.

"Well, for your information, I didn't enjoy one bit."

"That's because you always lose!" she looked at him straight in the eyes, "Why don't you admit that you enjoyed our little game?"

"Simply because I didn't."

"Oh come on, don't be such a liar!"

"I'm not," he replied sternly.

Mikan was busy laughing when she remembered something. "Hey, how was the pancake?" the auburn-haired asked, cheeks reddening. She never asked a stranger about her cooking. She knew her grandpa's comments would be a lot different compared to Natsume's.

"Not bad," Mikan's eyes sparkled in glee, but then he resumed, "considering that a little girl made it."

"You know what? You're really ticking me off!"

"Then I'm glad," he mumbled, tone full of sarcasm.

Mikan sighed. This guy's undeniably ill-mannered… And her temper gauge wasn't that high anymore either. She then stood up and spun around without a word. She wanted it to be a dramatic walk-out scene, actually…

She was so pissed off that she wasn't really looking at where she was going… Then she tripped over and fell flat on her face. She quickly stood up and found out that she stepped on a pen. Embarrassed, she grabbed it vigorously and turned her head around to Natsume, expecting him to laugh his head off…

But the raven-haired simply stated, "You're definitely out of style, you know."

"And who are you to say that?!"

"Polka-dots were only famed on the late 70's."

"What do you mean…?"

"Your underwear."

"What's with… my underwear?" Mikan gave a baffled look, and as she tried to puzzle out Natsume's words, she remembered that she just wore a polka-dotted panty that day beneath her knee-high skirt.

"PERVERT!" she pushed him onto the floor and scurried away.

……

END OF CHAPTER


	3. Unexpected Comfort

**CHAPTER 3: Unexpected Comfort**

Mikan found herself in a verdant field… and a priest was conducting a mass or something. She wasn't really focusing much attention. The ambiance was gloomy; everyone seemed so lonely… especially her, who was wearing black clothes and a very sad expression. It was her grandpa's funeral. And he was completely leaving her alone. Her best friend had already left her. And now, her grandpa.

The priest seemed to impede his talking... The burial was about to be conducted. The tomb was placed in a yawning hole which was dug deep on the ground for that very purpose, and then, people started to throw flowers at it. They then came to her and told her some words of encouragement. But they didn't have the slightest idea of how she exactly felt, did they? Mikan approached her grandpa's tomb. Her hands which were clutching flowers quaked. She knew, once she throws them, it will be goodbye. Now the tears she tried so hard to hold back showed. It was the first time she realized that letting go would be so difficult. Her grandpa never left her alone… not until now.

Everyone in the scene vanished… The surroundings became pitch-black except the tomb in front of her. And soon enough, her grandpa too, left her…

Mikan sobbed and sobbed. She didn't know where to turn or who to go to. Just then, a figure emerged out of nowhere. The person had her back facing her. And though it was completely murky, she knew the person had jet-black hair. "Hotaru!" She ran as fast as she could, desperate to catch up with her best friend, but she kept on going away. She stretched out a hand to its full extent, but that was futile. Just then, she was about to fall, but before she did, her eyes went forced open.

Mikan sat bolt upright, breathing heavily and sweating all over. She dreamt about it again… But how come every time she tries to approach Hotaru, she would wake up in cold sweat? She never really confirmed if it was her best friend, though she had seen that very scene for some four solid times.

She stretched as she let out a yawn. Mikan then squinted her amber eyes as she gazed at the windows which revealed a sunny sky. "It must be afternoon…"

She took her time uncovering herself from her bed sheets and stood up leisurely. She hated her dream and she had always been in a bad mood every time she dreams of it. She then walked to the cabinet to grab some towel. She brought them outside her room and dragged her feet downstairs and off to the shower room.

The very moment she opened the door, she noticed the large mirror hanging just above the sink. She approached it and looked at her own pale reflection. She was staring at a girl with chocolate-brown eyes, not so pink lips, and long, messy elbow-length auburn tresses. She stroked her hair with her hand once, and she noticed that it was all tangled. Having slightly wavy locks was pretty difficult; unlike girls with curly hair, she tidies up her hair every time the wind blows. She then went to the bathtub. She twisted open the tap to fill the tub with water.

She touched the water with the tip of her forefinger to find out that it was lukewarm. She poured some bubble soap and twirled the water with her finger. Satisfied, she undressed herself and soaked herself in. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. She couldn't let loneliness get the better of her… She just couldn't. Her best friend and her grandpa might've left her, but she won't give up that easily. She was certain she'd be okay after some time of relaxation and cooling off.

After some fifteen straight minutes of musing, Mikan heard the bathroom door creak a bit. Not thinking right, she stayed calm and didn't move an inch from her position. But as she came to her senses, she remembered that she had a male guest roaming around her house. But before she could do any action, it was too late. The young man pushed the door open and peeked inside. And he saw her… naked.

"PERVERT!" she yelled as she clutched an empty pail and threw it to him. He, in the other hand, immediately closed the door, making the bucket crash loudly at it. Mikan made a face and clenched her fists. Natsume could've just knocked! But she was also angry at her clumsiness… How could she forget to lock the door? She took a deep sigh yet again. Perhaps he didn't see her whole body. She was covered with bubbles… or wasn't she?

She immediately jumped out off the tub, frightened that the same scene would happen again. She covered a towel around her slim body and twisted another one around her hair to dry it.

She marched off the shower room to see her most-hated-guy-in-the-whole-wide-world in his usual position in the couch in the living room. He noticed her walking by and gazed at her, thus she gave him a lethal glare.

"Hey, don't get any wrong idea… I didn't intend to see your disgustingly straight body."

"Whatever," she mumbled through gritted teeth as she continued to walk off.

"Looking at a little girl's body? That's gross," he said mockingly. After hearing what he had said, Mikan suddenly stopped in her trail.

"How many times do I have to say this? I'm already fifteen!!!" she stomped her feet hard against the floor and swiftly pivoted to face him, fists clutched, a vein popping out in her forehead, an extremely livid expression etched on her face.

"You can say that as many times as you want, but I won't believe you," he muttered, a smirk of victory crawled across his face.

"Grrr!" Mikan's face was contorting with rage, but she simply resumed her walking. There's no point picking a fight with a darn annoying devilish guy who wouldn't stop calling her little girl. She trotted upstairs, hearing the footsteps of her egotistical visitor towards the bathroom.

Fuming, Mikan forcefully opened the door that led to her room, got herself inside, and then closed it vigorously, so vigorously indeed that it seemed like the picture frames hanging on the wall would fall.

"Oooh! I hate him SO much!!!" she shouted at nothing in particular. She just couldn't take it! She's going to strangle Hotaru to death next time she shows herself up… She didn't even bother to explain how the barrier thing works, so now she had ended up stuck in the house with a rude bad-mannered guy. A cruel, terrible fate it is for her…

She seized her change of clothes from the closet brutally and after drying her skin, wore them at once. She gripped a blue comb and brushed her hair briskly, her mind still drifting off. She wouldn't last another day with a dreadful person like him. Natsume… She cursed that name over and over again under her breath.

She approached her study table and slumped down the chair. She clutched a parchment with her left hand and a pen with the other. She didn't have a clear idea of what to say to Hotaru, but she had been very furious at the moment that she had to express her anger by writing a letter to her, or else she would certainly explode. She paused for a moment, pen at the ready. And as ideas of what to write swiveled into her mind, she began.

_My ever dearest Hotaru,_

_As you always know, I miss you so much and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing you again. Pushing that aside, I'd like to inform you that I can't suppress my anger much longer… It's about Natsume. It's not about him being dangerous or his Fire Alice whatsoever, it's because he's so darn annoying and I loathe him so much… He keeps on calling me 'little girl' --- can you believe that? --- and he's undoubtedly a pervert. He saw my underwear one time, and he peeked through the bathroom door to see me in the tub… Well, I'm not sure if he really saw my body, but that isn't exactly nice. He's so rude! And bad-mannered! He didn't even appreciate my cooking! And he never said 'thank you,' or 'sorry,' or even 'please.' I can't take it anymore!_

_Anyway, though I hate to say this and you probably won't believe me, your barrier device is rather faulty. I thought you said only students of Alice Academy will be affected by it? Now I can't go outside because of that stupid electric barrier… Sorry for saying it is stupid, I just can't help it. I'm stuck here with him! Now I know how people in reality shows feel when they're with stuck with the people they hate…_

_Well, that guy said that I might be an Alice and there's a fat chance that I'm one of you guys. And if I will be able to go to your school, then I won't get separated from you ever again, Hotaru!_

_Love, (though I'm still a bit angry at the moment)_

_Mikan Sakura ._

_P.S. Please include in your reply the reason why he had to escape from your school, okay? Just for the sake of curiosity._

A sigh escaped from Mikan's mouth. She was glad writing to her friend cooled her quite a bit. But it wouldn't change the fact that she still had to stay in the house with him for another ill-fated day. She stretched both her arms and glanced at the windows. The blue satin curtain which was usually hung low was pushed aside. The sky was orange with streaks of deep crimson; patchy clouds slightly covered the setting sun.

She pushed herself away from the study table and reluctantly stood up. "What to do?" she raised a question for her to answer. She approached her shoulder bag and rummaged through it to find her English textbook.

She then returned to her seat and started reading. But then, something from her bookshelf caught her attention. She wasn't able to pinpoint it just yet, but then she realized that it was a whole set of manga books. Those were lent to her by a classmate who said that she mustn't take studying too seriously. "Who cares anyway?" She resumed her reading. But after a few minutes, as if commanded by her instinct, Mikan stood up and grabbed one book.

"Now what?" she asked herself once again, only to be answered by her feet by dragging her whole body to the living room.

"Here," Mikan tossed the manga to Natsume ---who was a meter away from her--- who immediately sat up.

"Where did _you_ get this?" he asked, a perfectly shaped eyebrow raised.

"Stop asking questions," she responded and abruptly turned her back to him.

"Fine then," was Natsume's reply. Mikan gave a baffled look, she never saw him agree so easily. Shrugging, she trotted back to her room upstairs.

After some three boring hours of reading, Mikan felt hungry. She wasn't really keeping track of time, and after looking at the clock hanging on a distant wall, she found out that it was half past seven already.

She went downstairs and sprinted towards a cupboard at the kitchen and opened it up. She looked for something to eat which would be easy and fast to cook. "An instant ramen will do," she put on a small smile while stretching out her arms to get what she was mumbling about. She then grasped a teapot and poured some water inside, then put it over the stove and turned it on. After some time, it let out a whistling sound, giving Mikan the cue that the water was already boiling. She turned the stove off, pulled open the lid of the ramen cup, and mixed the seasonings inside. She then gripped the teapot handle and poured boiling water in the cup. She returned the lid to its original position and set it aside for about three minutes or so.

"I'm getting really hungry…" she muttered as she completely detached the lid and seized chopsticks. She then bustled to the dining room and got herself a seat.

"Itadakimasu!" she mumbled cheerfully as she placed the chopsticks on her right hand. She ate blissfully and took sips from the cup at some random intervals.

"That was great!" she stated as she finished eating, then she hurled the empty cup and chopsticks onto the bin.

She went back upstairs and to her room, cheery and optimistic, completely the opposite of how she was hours ago. She grasped a pen resting on the bedside table and sat down on her bed. She then held up her pillow and clutched a pink notebook which was hiding underneath it. She read the writings on the front page which read: _My Diary,_ opened it up and scribbled this and that on the page next to where her latest writings resided.

……

Mikan yawned after she changed to her nightgown. The moon was unusually bright that night, she wondered if Hotaru was also gazing at it and noticed that…

She was just about to crawl onto her bed to sleep, but she felt something wasn't quite right. She pondered on what her mind was trying to notify her… then it was as if a bulb of bright light popped out on her head. "Oh my gosh, Natsume hasn't eaten yet!" she said worriedly to herself as if she was referring to a pet cat.

She made her way downstairs to see her guest in his typical position in the futon, reading the manga book she had lent him earlier.

"Hey, aren't you hungry?" she asked, worry enveloped her voice.

"Now that you ask, I think I am," he stated, face still covered by the book.

"Then why not prepare it for yourself?"

"Because I want _you _to prepare it for me," he said with a smug tone.

"And who are you to say that? What if I don't do it? Then you won't eat?"

"Yeah."

"And why not do it yourself? There's a cup of instant noodles in the cupboard."

He grunted for a moment, then suddenly mumbled, "I told you, I want you to prepare it for me."

"I'll let you die of hunger then," she smiled as she replied with the same amount of sarcasm in her voice. Why did she bother to ask him anyway?

She was just about to step on a ridge of the first step of the stairs when she let out an exasperated sigh. She'd like him to do it himself, but her conscience wouldn't let her do that. She unenthusiastically went to the kitchen and grabbed another cup of instant ramen.

After eating what Mikan had prepared for him, Natsume tossed the cup and the chopsticks he used away to the bin. She was standing against the wall at the corner, her amber eyes glued to her visitor. Probably noticing it, Natsume asked.

"Where will I sleep?"

"You look comfortable in that couch," she replied, one eyebrow arched.

"When I toured around your house earlier, I noticed a room other than yours," he stated, as if trying to point out something.

Mikan then realized that he was talking about her grandpa's old room. "…So?"

"Won't you let me stay there?"

"And what makes you think I would want you stay there?"

"Just thinking you might let me."

"Sorry, but no. I'll just lend you a blanket and some pillows," Mikan glared at her feet. She can never let anyone stay at her grandpa's room. She never will.

……

Mikan's eyes opened slowly and adjusted to the sudden light, and then rubbed them to get the sleepiness off. She crawled out of the sheets and approached the windows to open them up… She took in clean fresh air, and let it blow strands of her hair. She let the soothing chirps of the birds and relaxing music of the rustling of trees empty her mind. It was a fine, almost perfect day… except for the fact that she still had to stay with an irritating guy. It was a good thing he remembered to remind her self that she had a male guest in the house.

Just then, a tawny barn owl came fluttering to her, thus she welcomed it with open arms. It had a parchment tied on its left leg, and it crooned softly as it pointed its beak to it, as if urging her to go and untie it. She complied at once, and gently disentangled it. She separated the note from the owl, and she placed the bird over the bedside table. She leisurely walked across the room to the study table, her sight not taken away from the parchment. She found it intriguing… a note delivered by an owl? Quite unusual.

She took the seat and flattened the note across the smooth table. The first thing she noticed was a stamp on the upper right side, which was star-shaped and had a letter A in uppercase. After some time of thinking, she recognized the symbol as the Alice Academy school emblem. She turned to the bedside table to take a look at the owl, but she found out that it had already fluttered away. Curious, she began to read it without speaking out loud.

_Mikan,_

_If the owl had successfully brought this note to you, then I bet you're still alive. I do hope you're not having difficulty living with Natsume (that's his name if he hasn't told you). Anyway, here's some information about him that might be helpful or might simply interest you._

_Name: Hyuuga Natsume_

_Age: 15_

_Birthday: November 27, 1990_

_Horoscope: Sagittarius_

_Blood Type: B_

_I tell you, that guy's really aloof, and he's always ambiguous and enigmatic, so don't expect that he can be your friend (I know you think you can make friends with anyone), AND he has a fire Alice… Don't ask me what an Alice is, just remember to stay away from him, because he can create fire at his own will, and that's what makes him so dangerous. Remember NOT to turn off the barrier, you know what will happen if he escapes._

_Whatever,_

_Imai Hotaru_

Mikan curled her eyebrows. Not one of what Hotaru told her helped one bit, and she didn't inform her about the barrier either. And didn't she say that she would tell her about the reason why Natsume wanted to flee from the school? If only she could go out and drop her letter to Hotaru on the postbox immediately, then she could answer her. But the query that definitely bugged her is _how to live another day with Natsume_.

She considered locking herself inside her room all day. But she couldn't just let Natsume die… He didn't know how to cook or even prepare instant noodles, for crying out loud! She closed her eyes, rested her elbows on the wooden study table, bent her head down, and placed her fingers on her temples, as if thinking deeply of a plan.

Just then, she swiftly looked up, eyes bugged out of their sockets. "I really _am_ a genius!"

She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and started to write: _'To prevent another one of those heated verbal arguments of ours, I decided that whenever we would like to say something to each other, we must write them on a paper and pin it on the fridge rather than saying it directly. I'll just leave food in the dining table,'_ in a legible supposed-to-be imitation of Times New Roman handwriting.

She hopped her way downstairs and pinned securely the note with a strawberry-shaped magnetic clip. She also placed a pen and sheets of blank paper for him to write on atop the table beside it.

"That will do it," she then marched back upstairs.

……

Mikan sat in her bed, her knees bent close to her chest, her arms hugging them tightly. She couldn't help but feel lonely and vulnerable… And if it continues, she might end up dreaming that nightmare again and wake up in cold sweat. Shrugging that off, she gazed at the alarm clock. It read eight o'clock. She then decided to shove off those thoughts aside and jumped off her bed. She wandered and found herself approaching the attic. She then went inside without a tinge of hesitation.

Contemplating of what she would do there, she spotted a hatch attached on the low ceiling. She brought a chair below it, stood above it, opened wide the hatch, and heaved herself upwards through the wide square hole.

Mikan found herself sitting on the roof of the house itself. And after she found herself an apt position, she gazed at the distant sky above. Hundreds of little stars were twinkling, but the glow of the lucid half-moon stood out above them all.

She peacefully watched the nice scenery, mind drifting off. She was still small when her parents left her to her grandpa's care. Only he had cared for her so much: he went with her on her first day of school, he cheered and accompanied her on the sports fest, and he had never left her side. She was also fortunate to meet a girl that changed her life forever: her best friend named Hotaru. She didn't really know what she meant to her best friend, but she was more than happy that she had stood by her side in good times and bad.

More sweet memories came swiveling into her mind, and before she knew it, warm salty tears slid down her cheeks. She didn't really stop them, thinking that letting them flow freely would ease her pain and loneliness. She again hugged her knees and rested her chin on them. She shivered slightly as a blast of cold wind brushed against her skin.

Just then, a figure came out of the hatch. And unsurprisingly, it was Natsume.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she asked, looking away while shaking off her tears.

"Just thinking that it might be freezing cold out here," he answered as he sat beside her, one leg stretched out, the other one slightly bent. "Here." When she gazed at him, he handed her a blanket. She glanced at him with a puzzled look, but he simply gave back a blank reaction.

"Thanks," she mumbled as she covered the blanket around herself.

They were engulfed in a deafening silence. The cold night air breezed softly; leaves from near trees rustled with its accord.

Mikan didn't know what to do or say. And though it sounds strange, she liked his company.

"You know," Natsume started to break the silence, "you don't seem as cheerful today as how you were yesterday."

Though mystified by Natsume's words, she failed to look at him. "How come?"

"I can't see your enthusiastic smile anymore. I reckon something's bothering you."

Mikan was quite taken aback by his kind words. And thinking it would be a right time to say her feelings, she decided that telling it even to the most unlikely person would lighten up her burdens.

"My grandpa… He died a year ago. A-And Hotaru's not by my side anymore either… M-My parents… They died when I was small. I-I feel… lonely," she stammered, staring at her feet.

She trembled as she tried to stop tears gathering in her eyes from gushing out. She didn't feel like crying beside a person who was trying to make her feel better.

"Idiot, don't cry, that won't help," he said primly, then paused, "but I recommend you not to hold them back either, letting them out might make you feel better."

Mikan responded with a little nod and let the tears roll down her cheeks once again.

"My parents," he started again, his eyes hardened dangerously, "they died when I was eight."

Mikan suddenly lifted her head to stare at his face, but still traced no emotions.

"It was my entire fault…" he whispered. It made Mikan intrigued, but she chose to shut her mouth instead. She knew she must respect his feelings.

"Sorry," she muttered. But she received no response.

The raven-haired shook his head gravely as if a new realization had just hit him. "Just don't cry ever again, or I definitely won't stop calling you an idiot."

"Sure," she replied, a small smile carved in her lips.

He stood up and turned his back to her, "And I already believe you're fifteen anyway," then walked away and onto the hatch.

Mikan was left with a smile. She had suddenly realized one thing: he somehow had a good and sensible side.

……

Mikan was in the dark abyss once again. She had attended an entombment a moment ago, and now she was facing the back of a person with jet-black hair.

"Hotaru!" she yelled as she ran her way to her, expecting her to walk away as usual. But this time, she was wrong. The moment she caught up with her, the person turned around and revealed her face… or rather _his_.

"Why do you keep on making me chase you?!" she shouted at him albeit she was aware of the fact that they were just a foot away from each other.

"Don't worry, I'll make you feel better," he stated soothingly, his amber eyes piercing hers.

"But you don't understand what I'm feeling! You never will!" she bellowed as she dropped onto her knees.

The young man placed a gentle smile on his face while crouching down at her. "I will make sure you won't feel alone again."

"H-How can you say that?"

"I," he placed his arms tightly around her, "will always stay by your side."

A blinding light emanated from both of them, illuminating the whole scene once again. Everything seemed to glisten… the foliage, the emerald-green leaves of the trees, down to every last blade of grass. The distant ball of fire in the sky threw rays of sunlight all over the field… rays of hope.

In the face of the auburn-haired blossomed a smile, "Thank you, Natsume."

Mikan found herself lying on her bed once again, recalling her intriguing dream. She never expected that person to be someone like _him_, nor did she ever wish him to be. However, that was the first time she ever felt blissful after having that certain dream.

……

Mikan sat in the couch beside Natsume, waiting for her classmates' arrival --- if they really were planning to visit her, that is.

She glanced nervously at her wristwatch. It read four o'clock. Classes should've ended by then. They would be coming any minute now.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" the banging on the entrance door crashed her thoughts.

"Coming!" was her shouted reply.

She came hurrying across the room to the sliding doors when she remembered something… Natsume was still reading the book, lying in the futon and unaware of her guests. She didn't see this coming!

"Natsume! Hide upstairs! Quickly!" she hissed in a hoarse whisper.

Natsume took his time standing up and making his way upstairs.

Mikan simply sighed and immediately pushed open the door.

"Oh! Hi, everyone!" she greeted, gesturing to her guests to come inside. Five or six people came in, sitting in the futon where Natsume had always lain. So they were able to go through the barrier with ease, eh? Maybe she _really_ was an Alice. Mikan smiled. Everything was going according to the plan.

"Wait right here, guys. I'll make some juice," Mikan told them before scurrying to the kitchen, not forgetting to be hospitable. She would need to entertain them first before asking them to do the favor. They would be the ones to turn off the switch.

She came back to the living room with a pitcher of orange juice and numerous glasses in a tray. She settled it down on the table as she sat on the couch other than Natsume's favorite one.

"Mikan, what happened to you? Why were you absent?" the girl with circular glasses asked with pure concern.

"Yeah, you never were an absentee, Mikan-chan… especially when you know that there will be a long unit test in Math," a girl with black curly hair stated before pouring juice in a glass and taking a small sip.

Mikan smiled inwardly. She never thought her classmates would be so kind and caring.

A blond girl then surmised. "Are you sick, Mikan? You don't seem like one though…"

Her mind raced. She knew she had to answer this very question, yet she wasn't really ready for it. She somehow needed to say any bogus answer. "…You see, I went to the airport early this morning to fetch my auntie. But since she didn't show up, well, I guess my effort was futile."

"Oh, that's too bad. But we're somehow happy you're not sick or something!"

"Thanks for the concern, guys, but I really am perfectly fine," she replied with a saccharine-sweet smile. Seeing that her guests were already relaxed, she took it as her cue.

"Erm… Guys, I'll need to ask you a favor," she started, trying not to make her tone excited or happy.

"Anything, Mikan-chan."

She smiled as she slightly nodded, "I'll need you to---"

But then she was cut off by a booming voice from upstairs. "Hey, woman, your room's full of polka-dotted panties! Why is that?"

_Oh no…_ She forgot to say '_Behave'_ to her dear housemate! And this, of course, attracted the full attentions of her latest visitors.

They all shifted their bugged eyes from the staircase to her. The girl with braids who looked as if she was on the verge of passing out asked suspiciously, "Mikan, what's the meaning of THAT?"

……

END OF CHAPTER


	4. Free at Last

"M-Mikan-chan? Is that… Is that your boyfriend?"

She mused for a trice. Is he really her boyfriend?

"Iie!!" she shook her head vigorously, realizing what the question was. Darn it. Why did Natsume have to shout like that?

The only guy in the house descended by the stairs vividly, gazing at his fellow visitors. He then flashed a conceited smirk, "I'm that idiot's cousin."

Their eyes abruptly shifted to Mikan, who was also shocked at the remark. _How the heck did he get such a brilliant alibi?_ The girls' eyes glistened hopefully; she plastered a sheepish grin on her face.

"Oh Mikan, he's so cool!" the girl with glasses bounced up and down excitedly. Mikan wanted to say, 'Don't be easily tricked! He's a devil beneath that angelic façade!' But she couldn't deny that she would've been tricked too if Hotaru didn't tell her that he's such a dangerous person.

She eyed Natsume who was leaning on the distant wall and gave him the stop-this-hoax-immediately glare. He merely shrugged. She turned to her friends once again, and tried to ask them the favor. "About the favor---" but she was cut short as one exclaimed, "Is he still single?"

Mikan's eyebrow raised in a perfect curve. So they're falling for his ploy, huh? "Yes, he doesn't have a girlfriend at the moment."

At that, the bunch shrieked in delight. Mikan let out an exasperated sigh; she couldn't believe that they would fall that easily on a lousy trick. "Now I think your good looks is hereditary, Mikan. I bet all of your family is good-looking…" the girl with braids stated, but she received glares from her companions. Mikan believed that they're all aware of the fact that she's alone in life already. "…Sorry, Mikan."

"Hey… It's okay, I tell you. But please do me a favor."

"Oh! Our apologies, Mikan-chan! We forgot about that… So what is it?"

"Come with me." She urged them to go outside the house and pointed at the lawn. As she walked through the doorway, her arms flailed sideways; her entire right hand almost touched the barrier. Good thing only her forefinger was electrocuted as she abruptly backed away.

"Can you see that red circular button in there? Please push it for me…" she said in a pleading tone, hoping that her guests didn't see her.

"Oh, is that it? Sure thing." They then approached the turf and pushed the said button. And as Mikan saw it being done, she almost cried in glee._ Free at last!_

"Mikan-chan, I'm just wondering," the girl who had her hair arranged in ponytail stated as she pivoted to face her, "why did you need our help? Can't you just turn it off yourself? And what's that button for?"

Mikan was taken aback. It was another one of those queries she didn't foresee. "…Uh… Actually… Um…"

Just when she considered telling the truth to her acquaintances, the raven-haired guy zoomed into view. "That's the switch for the electricity inside the house. And she wanted you to do it for her because she's too lazy, and she's so clumsy she might trip over AGAIN," he stated mockingly with an annoying grin. She had the urge to stomp at his foot, but his alibi was too perfect she had to smile.

"Oh, I see. Let's go now, guys. Thanks, Mikan-chan," the one with ponytail bade goodbye with a sweet smile.

"See you tomorrow, Mikan!"

Then to her surprise, the redhead approached her and drew close to whisper something in her ear, "Mikan, I hope you could help me be friends with that cousin of yours. What's his name anyway?"

She beamed back, "Pervert." Her conversationalist gave her a puzzled look. "Oh, I mean that's what I call him. His name is Natsume."

"Oh… A really good name, that is," as she turned to set off, but before she did, she beamed a playful smile. "Who cares if he's a pervert? He's such a cutie," then she hopped her way to her friends.

Seeing that her friends were already in a good distance away from her place, Mikan shot a nasty glare at Natsume. He simply smirked, which really annoyed her, but she went out of the house to rejoice the absence of the barrier.

She hopped her way to the fields and looked at the distant orange sky. The familiar scent of the meadows made her smile. At long last, she wouldn't have to stay in the house for every minute of every hour with Natsume…

……

**CHAPTER 4: Free At Last**

(Dedicated to my friend ice08 who literally dragged me to continuing this fic.)

……

"I'm gonna be late! I'm gonna be late!!!" Mikan moved around the house frantically as she went here and there to arrange things: organize her papers, comb her hair, cook food. "Gah! I'm confused!"

Natsume simply watched her in amusement, a grin on his lips.

"What are you doing? Help me here!" she said, looking at him while transferring her stir fry from the pan to the lunchboxes. "Do something, you good-for-nothing freeloader… Yeowch!" she immediately dropped the hot pan.

"Hey!" he rushed to her, worry evident in his tone. "Why do you have to be so darn clumsy?"

She looked at him dreamily, wondering why the phrase _good-for-nothing freeloader _affected him so much. She watched him plaster a bandage on her swollen finger and managed a smile. Her eyes widened once again as she realized, "I'm gonna be late!"

……

"Whew, thank goodness."

Mikan sighed in relief as she stood beside the gate; students of all ages were here and there, entering the school premises. She knew she was late for sure, but it was as if luck was on her side that morning.

"Ohayou, minna!" she greeted casually as she walked and met her classmates. They replied with a murmur of greetings.

Mikan stopped on her trail when she caught sight of someone very important. "Oniichan!!!" she bounced up to him and gave him a big hug. "I miss you a real lot!"

"Oi, Mikan-chan," he propped her down and pinched her hard in the cheeks. "We didn't see each other for just four days and you miss me already?" he asked thoughtfully, one hand scratching the back of his head. She meekly nodded her head.

"Still perky as always, eh?" he chuckled lightly. Just then, the bell rang. "Let's go now; we don't want to be late again, do we?"

Mikan walked with him wearing a sunny smile.

However, it was perfectly unknown to her that a figure hiding on the shadows was secretly watching them.

……

"Tsk."

Natsume grunted, seeing that his friend was happy with that guy. What's bothering him more was the fact that he seemed extremely familiar…

Brushing his thoughts aside, he jumped out from the bushes and decided to get busy on something other than unwinding on Mikan's couch. He sure didn't want to be called freeloader again.

"Ohayou!" the woman on the cash register tilted her head to his direction with a smile. The bell attached on the glass door was still jingling. "What can I do for you?"

He scanned the place before he decided to answer. "I saw the notice outside. You're looking for an employee?"

The woman nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes. We're short of one utility official."

Natsume couldn't help but raise a brow. "…utility official?"

He didn't know if it was a trick of light, but it seemed that her smile had suddenly turned to a playful grin. "Yes, in short, a janitor."

"Eh? Are you kidding?" he said in disgust and turned away.

"But since the work of janitors is quite tiring and a bit… troublesome, we decided to increase their wage to at least twice of ours."

Natsume stopped on his tracks and turned to her once more. "Am I fit for the job?"

She smirked even wider, "I'm Hitomi." She put out a hand for a shake, "Welcome to Crème Cake Shop."

……

"Nii-chan!!" Mikan called out to a man of black tresses and eyes as she leaned on the classroom's doorframe. He immediately turned to her and jumped out from the desk he was sitting on.

"Yeah? What is it this time, my little angel?" he approached her and ruffled her hair.

She beamed and put out two lunchboxes, "I cooked lunch! For the two of us!"

"You did? Nice girl," he said and tousled her hair even more.

"Oi Tsubasa!" their attentions were caught by the source of the voice, "that's child harassment, you know!"

"Baka!" he chuckled, "we're brothers! Stop thinking dirty, you fool!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, lover boy," the lady with short gray hair said with a grin.

"Dirty?" Mikan asked curiosity.

"Just ignore her," he then turned to his classmate once again, "Look what you've done, Yura! You're dirtying the mind of a child!"

"She's fifteen now, for goodness' sake! And I'm only seventeen too, so that means I'm a child?"

Tsubasa then shook his head in disbelief and turned to Mikan once more, "Let's eat now, shall we?"

They headed to the rooftop. The midday was sunny, but the two didn't really mind the heat. She's always happy whenever she's with Tsubasa; it was as if he fills the empty space in her heart wherein her family who were forcefully taken away from her should reside.

"Mikan."

"What?" she asked as she removed the green cloth wrapping her lunchbox.

"Did you not notice? This morning, it was as if someone was observing us…"

Mikan gazed at him with much concern, "What do you mean?"

"Ah! No, don't mind me. By the way, the obento smells really good!"

Blushing faintly, she smiled. "Arigatou!"

……

"You just missed a spot in here!" The old woman crossed her arms over her chest and clicked her tongue repeatedly, "This shelf should be left dustless. Hitomi's father will be really mad if he finds out that she hired such a lousy janitor…"

"Utility official," he corrected.

"…Yeah, whatever it is," she pivoted and walked away, "Just make sure this place's spotless when I come back. Prove to me you're a better janitor---"

"Utility official," he corrected once again.

"Fine, utility official it is, prove to me you're a better utility official than I am," then she disappeared behind the curtains.

Natsume groaned. In Alice Academy, he was never treated like this; he earns money without much effort. He just wanted to burn the whole place down so no one would complain about filth; it was just that he wanted to return the favor to Mikan so much he had to bear all the trouble.

Who would have thought _he_ would even bother helping someone like Mikan?

He appreciated the fact that even though they were complete strangers to each other, she still accepted him in her house. He knew exactly how it felt to be homeless, much worse, to have no one to care for him. What's more, that girl still kept vivacious despite the fact that they were in the same situation--- alone in life and lonely. He faced the fact with much resentment and arrogance, but Mikan… she's amazing; it's almost as if nothing has happened.

Just then, Hitomi emerged from the blue satin curtain, disrupting his thoughts. "Hey… Natsume-kun?"

"What?" he replied with much indifference.

She smiled still, nonetheless, "Ano… Annie said you're pathetic…" hearing Natsume's grunt, she continued, "Demo…! Don't mind her! She's always like that, as if she's had her menopause a long time ago, hihi…"

_Was she trying to make me laugh at her corny joke?_ "You're disgusting."

"Yeah, my partner says that too sometimes," she chuckled, then hit the top of her head and stuck out her tongue like a mischievous little girl.

"Whatever. I'll just go back to what I'm doing. Now go away."

She shook her head. "No, just go on."

"Hn," he sprayed a portion of the bottled detergent on the glass breakfront and grabbed a wet rug, then stroke it on the glass circularly.

"Oh, so that's why," she said then crouched beside him, "it shouldn't be circular; you should wipe it vertically, so the dirt won't come back."

She glanced at her watch and murmured a word of apology, "Daddy's gonna be home any minute now, I'd better go back to my post. Ja!"

Just when she was already out of earshot, he murmured, "No one asked her to waste her time with me anyway. She's really annoying."

……

"Is something the matter, Tsubasa-sempai?" Mikan asked him almost tearfully.

He plastered a big smile on his face and chuckled. "Ah… Iie."

"You're lying!" she pouted and yelled, not minding the boisterous crowd enclosing them. "I'm sure something's bothering you!"

"Oh well," he sighed and looked at her in the eye, "I think I just saw someone from my previous school."

"There's nothing to worry about then!" she said, the smile in her eyes coming back.

He shook is head apologetically, "No, not really. That guy's exceptionally dangerous."

"So… He's a gang leader of some sort?" she asked, forefinger in the lips.

He chortled once again and disheveled the hair on top of her head, "I guess you can say that!"

"Aw… So was he your enemy?" she asked, carrying on with her walking.

"Nope, not really. Let's stop the chitchat about him, okay? I just saw him so it's not really a big deal. You should worry more about your safety; I just heard about what happened… last Friday night."

"…Yeah, I guess so."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me the most. Brother hasn't been feeling well so I had to stay with him."

"No, there's nothing you should apologize about. I'm just too clumsy, that's all." _Yes, she's clumsy, that's what Natsume said anyway..._

"So you want me to accompany you home?"

"Hai!"

……

Just as when Mikan and Tsubasa were about to exit the school grounds, a dark-haired guy wearing a dirty apron and gloves stopped them.

"Let's go home," he pinned his red stoic eyes on her, pure authority in his tone.

She let out an exasperated sigh, "Can't you see? I already have someone to---"

"I see," Tsubasa smirked, recognizing the face from the past. Now he remembers.

"Natsume Hyuuga, is it?"

……

END OF CHAPTER


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